Reports about forced separation of children, including Dr Adrian Zenz's report of 4 July 2019, add to the growing body of evidence about the disturbing situation that Uyghurs and other minorities are facing in Xinjiang. We assess that there could be more than a million Uyghurs and other minorities who have been or are currently detained extra-judicially in detention camps in the province. As Mr Field explained in a Westminster Hall debate on 29 January 2019, these detentions have split up families and have had a significant impact on the children of those detained.<\/p>
We also frequently raise our concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang bilaterally with the Chinese Government and in multilateral fora. Most recently on 3 July at the 41st<\/sup> session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, we noted our increasing concern at the growing use of detention camps in Xinjiang and re-iterated our call on China to allow UN observers unrestricted access.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1466", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison"}
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, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-07-23", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
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, "date" : {"_value" : "2019-07-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "China: Uyghurs"}
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, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
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], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of reports of Uighur Muslim children in western Xinjiang being separated from their parents; and if he will make a statement.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4064", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mr Steve Baker"}
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, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1137394", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1137394/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " We have serious concerns about the detention of more than a million Uyghurs, along with widespread surveillance and restrictions targeted at minorities. British diplomats in China visit Xinjiang every few months, in order to see at first-hand the situation there. They most recently visited in May 2019, and their observations have supported much of the recent open source reporting about the restrictions targeted at specific ethnic groups.<\/p> Ministers and senior officials frequently raise the human rights issues in the region with their Chinese counterparts, most recently in a public statement on 3 July at the 41st session of the UN Human Rights Council. The Foreign Secretary also highlighted our concerns with Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his most recent visit to China, in July 2018. Later that month, the Minister for Asia and the Pacific did the same with his Chinese counterpart Vice Minister Guo Yezhou. Additionally, our Embassy in Beijing regularly raises the treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang with the Chinese authorities.<\/p> Reports about forced separation of children add to the growing body of disturbing evidence highlighting the situation Uyghurs face in Xinjiang. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and raise our concerns with the Chinese government at all levels bilaterally and in appropriate UN fora, including the Human Rights Council.<\/p> \u200b<\/p>"}
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, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-07-22", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
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, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-07-22T12:54:38.4Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
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, "date" : {"_value" : "2019-07-08", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "China: Uyghurs"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"}
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], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of China about reports of (1) forcible separations, and (2) re-education, of Uighur children in the eastern province of Xinjiang.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4308", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans"}
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